European think tank urges forward planning for UK expats in EU states

A major European think tank is advising the EU to concentrate on plans for the million or so Brits living in the bloc.

The Migration Policy Institute Europe report states too much attention has been given during Brexit negations to date on the plight of EU citizens living in the UK, whilst the similar situation of UK expats living in EU member states is being almost ignored. The institute is calling for urgent planning for Britons living in Europe as regards their rights, with individual states urged to get ahead and streamline their systems in advance of March 2019. To facilitate this, the report is recommending a roadmap for the fair treatment of Britons living in Europe after Brexit is finalised.

EU citizens in the UK are now certain of being allowed to remain should they so wish, but there’s as yet no guarantee UK citizens will be granted the same assurances. A number of EU member states are already planning for issues likely to affect UK nationals, but officials in these states are uncertain as to the remits under which expats will fall. To date, the British negotiators have been forced to spell out plans for European expats, but the remaining EU member states haven’t been encouraged to get their acts in order as regards their British expat populations.

The report calls for key steps to be put in place, including user-friendly systems, the avoidance of retrospective document requirements and limits on fees charged. Outreach strategies should be applied to the updating of official guidance, and allowing registration to take place in familiar and accessible expat locations such as hospitals, schools, libraries and even pubs popular with the expat community has been suggested. The report was published at the same time as Brussels voiced its concerns over the Windrush scandal, saying similar treatment of EU nationals post-Brexit would not be tolerated.